new owner: driving full-time in 4H?

[tubby]

hi all!

a big thank-you to everyone who has contributed so much useful information on this site. very, very helpful.

we drove our 95 L400 SWB low roof spacegear home on friday (pictures coming later in the introductions forum). we followed the recommendations here concerning reputable dealers in Vancouver and have so far been very happy with the service provided. i'll hold off adding my own voice to the list of satisfied customers until we see how the inevitable after-purchase issues are worked out...

first thoughts on driving the Tubby: well, it's not our manual '91 Subaru...duh! acceleration, the auto tranny and response/handling will take some getting used to. i feel like putting on a headset and yelling "Ground control to Major Tom!" every time i get in the thing.

the vehicle's attitude in 2H on paved roads reminded me of my '88 Chevy shortbox van, by far the worst vehicle i have ever driven in rain and off road. so yesterday we took Tubby into the woods...and the magic called 4H happened. i love this rig in 4H, so much so that i'm wondering if i can drive it full-time in 4H without risking transmission damage and/or watching my fuel consumption blast off.

a second (related) question: i read somewhere here that the AT switch's Power Mode is used for faster acceleration, correct? is this something that could be left on full time to improve general performance? will it use more fuel in this mode? will leaving it in Power Mode mess anything up?

and finally, we had our first issue: the OD switch on the gear lever is busted. we're phoning the dealer today to have him replace the switch (it won't engage when depressed, so the vehicle is stuck in OD OFF mode, which means we kinda max out at 80km or so). the information i found on this site helped ease my anxiety a little as this sounds like a common and relatively simple fix.

again, thanks for the helpful info and Long Live the Tubby!

[tonydca]

hi all!

a big thank-you to everyone who has contributed so much useful information on this site. very, very helpful.

we drove our 95 L400 SWB low roof spacegear home on friday (pictures coming later in the introductions forum). we followed the recommendations here concerning reputable dealers in Vancouver and have so far been very happy with the service provided. i'll hold off adding my own voice to the list of satisfied customers until we see how the inevitable after-purchase issues are worked out...

first thoughts on driving the Tubby: well, it's not our manual '91 Subaru...duh! acceleration, the auto tranny and response/handling will take some getting used to. i feel like putting on a headset and yelling "Ground control to Major Tom!" every time i get in the thing.

the vehicle's attitude in 2H on paved roads reminded me of my '88 Chevy shortbox van, by far the worst vehicle i have ever driven in rain and off road. so yesterday we took Tubby into the woods...and the magic called 4H happened. i love this rig in 4H, so much so that i'm wondering if i can drive it full-time in 4H without risking transmission damage and/or watching my fuel consumption blast off.

a second (related) question: i read somewhere here that the AT switch's Power Mode is used for faster acceleration, correct? is this something that could be left on full time to improve general performance? will it use more fuel in this mode? will leaving it in Power Mode mess anything up?

and finally, we had our first issue: the OD switch on the gear lever is busted. we're phoning the dealer today to have him replace the switch (it won't engage when depressed, so the vehicle is stuck in OD OFF mode, which means we kinda max out at 80km or so). the information i found on this site helped ease my anxiety a little as this sounds like a common and relatively simple fix.

again, thanks for the helpful info and Long Live the Tubby!

There seem to be a number of folks on the UK forum who run in 4H all the time; implication seems to be a smidge worse mileage and perhaps a bit of extra wear and tear in the long run, but I'm not too sure about the latter. Apart from the Japanese warning sticker on my door advising about shifting in or out of 4H<->2H at speeds over 100km/h, nothing about driving it flat out in 4H. I regularly shift in and out of 4H; helps a ton in the rain.

The AT PWR mode just raises the shift points a bit higher that's all I believe. the HOLD mode starts you off in 2nd gear instead of 1st to minimize wheelspin on the slippery stuff:

http://www.delica.ca/forum/better-l400- ... tml#p52775

Getting the injectors cleaned and making sure your TPS and kickdown cables are properly asjusted does wonders for power/mileage. CVI in Richmond and Mardy at AAI can do this.

[jessef]

Yes you can drive in 4H (all wheel drive) 24/7.

Two disadvantages

1. worse fuel economy
2. faster wear on drivetrain components (cv/axles/boots/ujoints,etc...)

My sister drove one all winter in rain,snow,ice,dry, everything with 4H always enabled.

[FalcoColumbarius]

If your vehicle is a 4WD vehicle then from what I understand from my military mechanic buddies is that the transfer case is operating all the time, whether the front wheels are engaged or not. My mileage when running 4H on forest main or running 2H on winding paved highways is generally the same, usually between 9.5 & 10.5 kilometres to the litre, depending on the speed I am going. Running the van in 4L for extended periods is when you start drinking diesel.

Falco.

[crushers]

is the L400 viscous couple in the t/case?
if not then you are putting a LOT of strain on the t/case driving on HARD PACKED ground. (cement, pavement, hard packed gravel etc)
think about it this way, when ever you turn a corner ALL 4 wheels are trying to rotate independent of each other at different speeds. the open diffs front and back will allow that to be absorbed but the "locked" t/case will have to put up with different rotational stress coming in from both ends. VERY $$$$$ to fix plus the dead time.
IF the road has water, ice, snow, loose gravel, mud etc where slippage can happen then no issue at all running in 4H locked but on hard surfaces then run in 2H with the hubs locked (you do have manual locking hubs installed, right?) and you can shift from 2H to 4H on the move AT ANY SPEED (as long as the hubs are locked) so no advantage to running in 4H all the time.

now if the L400 has a viscous coupling in the t/case this is all redundant and pertains to the L300.

cheers

[jessef]

is the L400 viscous couple in the t/case?
if not then you are putting a LOT of strain on the t/case driving on HARD PACKED ground. (cement, pavement, hard packed gravel etc)
think about it this way, when ever you turn a corner ALL 4 wheels are trying to rotate independent of each other at different speeds. the open diffs front and back will allow that to be absorbed but the "locked" t/case will have to put up with different rotational stress coming in from both ends. VERY $$$$$ to fix plus the dead time.
IF the road has water, ice, snow, loose gravel, mud etc where slippage can happen then no issue at all running in 4H locked but on hard surfaces then run in 2H with the hubs locked (you do have manual locking hubs installed, right?) and you can shift from 2H to 4H on the move AT ANY SPEED (as long as the hubs are locked) so no advantage to running in 4H all the time.

now if the L400 has a viscous coupling in the t/case this is all redundant and pertains to the L300.

cheers

Yes. There's a VC in line at the tailshaft.

[crushers]

and...
there you go...

[tubby]

thanks for the replies everyone.

so it looks like 2H for everyday driving then into 4H as conditions demand.

for any other newbies interested in exactly what that funny shifter on the floor of the L400 is all about there is a good explanation here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active-Trac

[crushers]

nice link, thanks for posting...

[Mr. Flibble]

A good video on drive systems and how they handle on dry roads. Note, the deli's don't have the active traction control of the BMW. But, it goes to show you that RWD is actually great for dry conditions.
http://www.youtube.com/v/jV18ZBXwwYM?fs
http://www.youtube.com/v/jV18ZBXwwYM?fs[/youtube]